There are a large number of golf training devices which are patented, on the market, or both. Indeed, golf equipment and training devices are one rf the most fertile areas for inventive minds.
U.S. Patent No. 5,527,041 to Terry, III et al, entitled "Golf Putting Trainer," features a support base with a light source attached thereto. The source is used to generate a planar-shape beam of light which is projected toward a target on the ground, such as a hole or cup. The light source includes a laser and a cylindrically shaped optical element placed transversely to the light beam to create the planar-shaped output beam. A pair of removable, attachable, elongated guide rails provide a guide path for the golfer to move the golf head to putt the ball from the top of the support base.
Although the apparatus just described has certain advantages, it reveals certain shortcomings as well. For one, the apparatus overall is quite expensive, and would therefore need to sell for a considerable amount of money in the consumer market. Secondly, since the ball is placed on a platform, it is not placed directly on a playing surface. As a consequence, the user's body would not be in precisely the same position as it would be when putting a ball directly onto a playing surface, whether that surface is a carpet or a golf green. Thirdly, since the source is mounted on the distal-most end of the apparatus, alignment is made more difficult, since the beam cannot be readily compared to the parallel side rails.
The need therefore remains for a golf putting trainer of this type, but one wherein the apparatus overall is simplified, while allowing a ball to be placed directly on a playing surface and the light source easily aligned.